Sequential Turbulence
by A Quarter Past
Summary: It's funny what a difference small changes can make.
1. Caretaker Part One

**Sequential Turbulence**

Caretaker, Part 1

* * *

Note: A friend of mine and I used to watch Voyager and argue about which small changes would add up quickly to change the arcs and dynamics of the show. We no longer have the time to watch the series together and have these conversation, so I decided that I ought to turn our old debates into a series of related chapters that introduce a small change to each episode. This is easier said than done, as small changes in one episode add up to create large alterations to another; that said, I keep to the spirit of the exercise the best that I can.

The first two chapters will be the shortest; I use them only to set up the initial alterations.

* * *

i

Thomas Paris boarded _Voyager_ for the first time with a generalized feeling of unease. He knew this to be directly related to what had happened — no, what he had done — the last time he had acted in a Starfleet capacity other than prisoner. His rather one-sided conversation with Janeway at the New Zealand Penal Settlement hadn't been particularly moving or motivational, if he was being honest, but it had presented an opportunity; one he would be a fool to turn down. Opportunity aside, he questioned her motives, and now he questioned his decision making.

This unease carried him to the bridge, where he had been ordered to report to the Captain for his first duty as an observer. He made this trek in the presence of Harry Kim, the naive Ensign who would soon learn to disassociate himself from the convict who had saved him from being robbed blind by the Ferengi barkeep. Tom knew that it was best if he resigned himself to that now; no friends would be made on this short mission.

For now, Harry listed specs. Dozens of them — some about the ship itself, others about the ship's small compliment of the brightest crew that Starfleet had to offer. Tom only paid attention well enough to catch every fifth word — his temporary friend was excited and nervous (at least his tone contained the undertones of optimism). This continued until they were deposited on the bridge — met only with ten seconds of curious (as well as dark) glances from the skeleton crew.

"Well, Harry," Tom said loudly enough to spite his detractors, "Ready to meet the Captain?"

As they neared the ready room, Tom missed Harry's enthusiastic response, thinking to himself what Janeway had told him just days before:

 _"_ _I had to fight to get you this post, Mr. Paris. Captain Cavit felt it would be a mistake, but I convinced him he was wrong, or at least, I convinced him that I was not. It's up to you to make me right."_

Whatever lie ahead of them, at least this ship's XO wanted to believe in him.

ii

The red alert klaxons drew Kathryn to her feet. Around her, the bridge sparked and smoked, its crew scrambling to the bodies of those who remained prone at the feet of various stations. Her first thought was to check on Lieutenant Stadi, who had already gained the attention of Paris, but her feet caught the figure of the ship's captain on her way to assist.

Kathryn just managed to keep from tripping, and she quickly turned her attention to her superior officer. Already, the angle of his neck spoke ill of his prognosis; however, it was her inability to locate a pulse that sealed the unwanted news.

"She's dead."

Kathryn heard Paris's whisper. He was already at her shoulder; Stadi remained definitively still on the floor.

"So is he," she replied clearly, standing to address the man who had, until recently, been a prisoner. Her next decision came too easily, "Take the conn. Steady our course, and keep us from drifting if you can."

He nodded, his old training cutting sharply through whatever surprise he might feel.

"Aye…," seemingly as an afterthought, he added, "Captain."

Her faced pinched with pain —emotional and physical. Whatever had happened to them, however far Ensign Kim would soon tell them they had travelled, the crew of _Voyager_ had not all survived that journey.

Acting captain or not, Kathryn Janeway kept her rank out of respect for the man she had to leave lying at her feet, "It's Commander, Mr. Paris, or Ma'am in a crunch. I'd consider this crunch time, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, Ma'am!"


	2. Caretaker Part Two

**Sequential Turbulence**

Caretaker, Part Two

* * *

i

 _"We are not alone. We are in an uncharted part of the galaxy. We've already made some friends here, as well as some enemies. We have no idea of the dangers we are going to face…but one thing is clear. Both crews are going to have to work together if we are going to survive. That is why Captain Chakotay and I have decided to continue this alliance, with the hopes that along this journey, we can establish respect and maybe one day friendship between our crews._

 _Together. As the crews of Voyager and the Val Jean, we will seek out new life and new worlds. Let me be clear. Even at our maximum speeds, it would take us more than seventy-five years_ to reach the Federation. _But I am not willing to settle for that — somewhere out here there is another entity like the Caretaker, and they have the ability to get us there a lot faster. We will be looking for her, and we'll be looking for wormholes, spatial rifts, or new technologies to help us along the way._

 _Together we must move forward under Starfleet directive. However, from this point forward, the politics of the Alpha Quadrant are behind us. Somewhere, along this journey, we will find a way back together. We can not do this on our own._

 _Captain Chakotay, Mister Paris, set a course…for home."_

ii

Chakotay kept a close eye on _Voyager's_ position. It had become painfully apparent to him (i.e., both Seska and B'Elanna had, at various points, ranted and raged to him about it) that the larger ship, although heavily damaged, could easily outpace the _Val Jean._ Yet, it was also painfully clear to Chakotay that Commander Janeway had made the conscious decision to travel at slower speeds.

"She's keeping an eye on us," B'Elanna growled from the crawl-space beneath the bridge, where she was completing a number of minor repairs.

He knew her well enough to understand that her anger was in part a product of their alliance with Janeway, but that it was also a product of the fact that he'd refused to allow her to participate in the larger repair efforts. _Voyager's_ EMH had treated the genetic damage the Caretaker had caused his engineer, but the hologram had given a stern warning against over-exertion.

Chakotay gave Torres another day before she threatened to break his kneecaps; it was a day more than she'd give him otherwise.

It wasn't that he disagreed with her statement, Janeway was clearly keeping an eye on them. It was that he disagreed with B'Elanna's interpretation of the Commander's motives, "We stopped the Kazon from stopping the Caretaker from blowing up the array."

Sensing that he was about to be interrupted, Chakotay spoke louder, "And while it was Starfleet sentimentality that kept us from stopping the Caretaker from destroying our only way home ourselves, it was the _Val Jean_ that stood in their way. She's making sure we aren't alone if they decide to pay us back."

A movement in the corner of his eye let Chakotay know that at least Ayala agreed with his interpretation of the events. Silent but trusty Ayala — the sort of person who was unlikely to ignore his orders in a fit of rage, and the sort of person who was unlikely to be a Starfleet spy.

Not for the first time, Chakotay swore Tuvok's name.

"It was a pretty speech," Seska spat from the back of the bridge — the accusation in her tone was one he could do without, "from a pretty _Commander_. You're the one with experience captaining a ship, why does _she_ get to be in charge? How are Starfleet protocols and directives going to keep us safe out here?"

He couldn't explain to his crew — who despite their complaints would follow him into a supernova if he asked — that the answer to Seska's first question boiled down into pure intuition. Any woman who could convince a Vulcan to pass convincingly as a Maquis, any woman who could get Tom Paris to consider another life above his own, any woman who could willingly and easily look at his crew as an asset (only hours after wanting to drag them back to Starfleet in chains), was captain material. Rank or not. He didn't just know it; he _felt it._

(And if he was wrong, his crew would suffer for it.)

As for the second question…

"They aren't going to keep us safe out here," he turned and caught Seska's eye, "but then again, nothing will."


	3. Parallax

**Sequential Turbulence**

[Parallax]

* * *

i

Chakotay wore a look of irritation that belonged to a man who knew that he should technically get what he wanted. This was bothersome to Kathryn, who'd had to start the day reading a report about Maquis-on-Starfleet violence in engineering, and Tuvok demanding that the perpetrator remain in their brig until a settlement could be reached. Barely a week into their damned voyage, and it seemed as if her tenuous alliance with this man's crew was already falling apart.

"Lieutenant Carey is considering pressing charges. I have tried speaking with him on the matter, but apparently he doesn't take well to having his nose broken during an impromptu boxing match."

"Torres will be punished, but I cannot afford to have her rotting in your brig for the rest of this journey. She's the best engineer I have," Chakotay's tone, while not defensive, held a promise that would become so very soon if she didn't find a way to work with him on this.

Kathryn sighed, but allowed her posture to soften, "I can't have your crew attacking mine when they're upset."

When Chakotay opened his mouth to speak — probably with something that would be wise yet somehow off-putting — she held up her hand to silence him, "I wasn't done. I can't have your crew attacking mine; this is the last time. Torres will be released today. Consider it repayment for her help with our repairs."

It was clear by the way the Captain's eyebrows lifted that he was surprised he didn't need to fight her more on this, "I _will_ discuss this with my crew."

"Good."

"Just one thing, though, Commander…"

Kathryn had already turned away from him to look out the viewport (her silent dismissal), the _Val Jean_ blessedly nowhere in sight, and so she was forced to face him again. Perhaps there was a debate to be had after all.

"Yes?"

"B'Elanna said this escalated because your lieutenant wouldn't listen to her and tried to remove her from her place at the console."

"That may be so, but Joe Carey is my new chief engineer. When she's on this ship, she follows his orders. Even if she disagrees with him. You would have the same of Carey if he were on your ship."

It was unfortunate that they'd found themselves on opposite sides of this. Janeway could see that his loyalty to his crew made him seek to justify their actions, but she would not allow violence to be the answer to arguments on this ship… _her_ ship. That said, in their short time in the capacity of reluctant allies, she had determined that Chakotay was a reasonable — and if the records they had received from Tuvok's days of spying were correct, even when angry this man was a hell of a tactician.

That's why she knew he'd do what she recommended next.

"When we're done here, I'll release her from the bridge personally…"

"That's accepta—"

"…Under the condition she and Carey agree to work together until we're finished with the repairs to _Voyager."_

ii

"You have to be kidding me!" B'Elanna threw her arms up in exasperation, "She wants me to work with that _qoH_? Again!"

" _I_ want you to work with him," Chakotay shouted back.

For once, his anger was more impressive than hers, and he continued talking with a raised voice, "I don't like it when my crew undermine my agreements, I don't like it when the first thing I read in the morning is a message from Tuvok telling me that he's arrested my engineer for attacking a Starfleet officer, and I don't like it when acting Starfleet captains are able to issue _me_ orders from a position of moral high ground! You will work with Carey, and by the end of it, the two of you will friendly. D _o you understand me!?"_

The air had been forcefully removed from B'Elanna's sails. She nodded before crossing her arms, taking a deep breath, and looking up at the brig ceiling.

"Is there anything else?" She asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes. In about a minute, Commander Janeway is going to come in here, and I am going to leave. The two of you are going to have a civil conversation before she tells you that, for the next week and a half, you will be required to follow not only her orders but Lieutenant Carey's as well."

"Ha, like that would happen,"

"And you are going to say, 'Yes Ma'am, whatever you say Ma'am. I am at your disposal, Ma'am.' While I go back to my ship and make sure the rest of my crew doesn't do anything stupid because you couldn't control your anger."

"You're serious about this?" the accusation of betrayal was heavy in her tone, "I can't believe you're serious about this…"

Before Chaktoay was able to respond, the brig doors hissed open to reveal Janeway. She walked like she was on a mission, but there was nothing smug on her features when she spoke, "Captain, I have one of my Ensigns outside. He'll escort you to the transporter room. We've informed Mr. Ayala that you will be arriving shortly."

"Thank you, Commander," with no final glance at B'Elanna, Chakotay exited the brig.

For her part, Kathryn stood in contemplative since while the Maquis engineer paced around her small cell. The younger woman's irate anger came as little surprise to her after this morning, but she held out hope that an agreement could be reached without any further violence.

She made a decision on how to precede with the conversation.

"Harry Kim spoke to me just now."

The name of her Ops officer made B'Elanna snort, "Yeah, what did he have to say?"

Kathryn enjoyed a small, sincere smile as she thought of the Ensign's jumbled words, "He called you 'spirited.'"

"Yeah, I bet that's not what we meant…"

"No, I think it was exactly what he meant. He seems to admire you, and his report regarding your shared time with the Ocampa supports that. He asked me to tell you that, if you choose to accept my proposal to stay and work on the repairs with Mr. Carey, you'll have at least one friend."

Already sensing the half-Klingon's lack of trust in that sentiment, Kathryn added, "I wouldn't take his word lightly, either. He's stuck by Mr. Paris despite both crews' ill opinions of him."

For her part, B'Elanna found this line of conversation an odd detour from what she had expected. Starfleet officers liked to moralize, she saw no reason why Janeway shouldn't be here lecturing her for her poor handling of an easily resolved situation.

"I don't need his friendship; I need to get back to my ship…"

Clearly a master of selective hearing, Janeway released the cell forcefield, "Need it or not, you have it. For now, Tuvok is going to escort you to your assigned quarters. You'll be given a communicator, and from there, Lieutenant Carey will contact you. Are my directions clear?"

Biting her tongue, B'Elanna thought of Chakotay's anger and how it hadn't been directed at Starfleet this time, but at her…at the Maquis.

"Yes, Ma'am."

iii

Joe Carey was having a spectacularly awful day. By the end of alpha shift, he had already been battered by a Maquis, manhandled by an emergency medical hologram, and socialized by a pushy Talaxian. Roughly half-way into the beta shift, Commander Janeway had selected him as the ship's new chief engineer (a promotion he would have never received if they were still in Federation Space), but that seemingly positive meeting with his new commanding officer had ended poorly when he had been put in charge of Torres until the repairs were completed.

Now they were ship deep in an anomaly with no clear way out, and he had an energy problem to solve on top of it. Fortunately, he had a bright team. Whether he liked admitting it or not, he knew that Torres would make a good — but blessedly temporary — addition to that team. If she could keep her anger in check.

"I need to you work with Ensigns Bristow and Brooks on boosting our power reserves," he ordered when she found him in engineering, "They're good, but you've managed to keep that tin can flying despite its age. Teach them a thing or two,"

Joe kept his voice firm and clipped; he was still annoyed with her presence, but she was an asset he could use…an asset he didn't want to argue with, "If you disagree with them, if you think you have a better idea than them, if they look at you the wrong way and you want to set them straight, comm me immediately. _Comm me first._ I'll be more likely to give you permission than I will forgiveness. Got it?"

"Yes," the word was ground out between clenched teeth.

Three hours, and eight short debates with her over the communicators later, Joe tracked the Maquis engineer down on the second level of engineering. Surprisingly, she was engaged in a calm discussion with Bristow and Brooks. Well, as calm as someone with her disposition could be.

Thinking again of his nose, Joe had to shove down his own anger and think about getting the job done. Her mind was impressive, maybe even impressive enough to help _Voyager_ out of the position it was; he couldn't deny that, even out of pride, "Torres. A word."

He took her to a relatively quiet alcove, "Look. We don't get along, but right now…"

"Need more work done?" she scowled.

Joe clenched his jaw and counted to five, "The Commander has just informed me that the anomaly we're stuck in is temporal. There's a senior staff meeting in an hour. We need to come up with a solution before then. Together."

Her response may have taken ten seconds too long, and she may have crossed her arms defiantly in the process, but when Torres nodded in agreement, Joe Cary admitted to himself that Commander Janeway had not made a mistake in deciding to keep her aboard.

iv

Seska's frenetic enegery was wearing on Ayala. He could understand her frustration, the Starlet commander had flown her ship into an anomaly while B'Elanna was on board, but he didn't need to hear about it every five minutes. That recklessness of Janeway wasn't admirable, even if he knew it probably wasn't a deliberate attempt to 'stick it to Chakotay' as Seska kept suggesting, but she'd been thoughtful enough to inform them she was responding to a distress signal.

"She's gone and destroyed her ship in less than a week of being in charge. We shouldn't have to wait around to confirm it!"

This was Seska's problem, she tried to disguise her own pride as the well-being of the crew.

"B'E could still be alive in there. We're waiting around to confirm whether not _Voyager_ has been destroyed," Ayala scolded.

Chakotay's absence on the bridge was deeply unfortunate. Ayala had happily took command in his place, in order to allow his captain to finalize the memorial for those who had died during the Caretaker's forceful transportation of the _Val Jean_ (knowing that his Captain would not rest until their engineer was alive and accounted for, something told him that Chakotay was actually working on trying to enhance the ship's sensors). Having to be in charge of the spirited Bajoran; however, was never easy.

"They took our best engineer with them," Seska snapped back, just to spite him.

"Something's happening," Chell's oddly jovial voice penetrated their squabbling, "Something is making its way out of the anomaly. Specs look like a medium sized Federation starship."

Ayala shot a pointed glance toward Seska and brought up the readings, "It's _Voyager._ Chell, can you establish a hailing link?"

"Ahead of you," The Bolian chirped.

Several seconds later, he had his communications link, "Commander Janeway, this is Ayala. Do you need assistance?"

Although she seemed distracted by what the young, dark haired Ensign at the station behind her was saying, Janeway did respond, "Not presently."

"Where's B'Elanna?" Seeks interjected.

"She and Lieutenant Carey volunteered to assist our escape effort from a shuttle within the anomaly. We're trying to monitor their progress. Mr. Kim will send you the data we have. Janeway out."

v

"Which way do we go?"

If someone had told B'Elanna just a couple of weeks ago that she would be sitting in a Starfleet shuttle with a Starfleet engineer out of her own volition, she would have broken their jaw. Yet, here she was, making sure she helped this hapless crew out of the mess they'd gotten themselves (and her) into...and she was doing it with a man she'd assaulted only earlier that day.

"Sensors aren't going to help us," Carey offered, preoccupied by readings on his console.

"You're piloting this shuttle, what do you think we should do?"

"One's entering and one's leaving. We have to decide, logically, which is which. If we pick the wrong one," he looked at her, "we're stuck in here for good."

"Left or Right? Arguing over logic isn't going to cut it here, Carey. We need to pick one now."

"-Starboard-"

"-Port-"

Although they spoke simultaneously, Carey kept talking, "Commander Janeway may not seem like much to you right now, but she's not going to leave us behind in here. Starboard. They're angling the ship so we can dock the shuttle. Trust me on this one, okay?"

B'Elanna didn't think she could trust this man on his word alone, but she thought of Janeway's (admittedly fair) punishment, Harry Kim's offer of friendship and Carey's willingness to trust her enough to climb into a shuttle with her in order to carry out one of her 'rash' solutions. She didn't have to like Starfleet to know it's good officers when she saw them.

"Okay."

Carey took them starboard.


End file.
